No,
we have never
even heard
that
there is
a Holy Spirit.
[Acts 19:2]
*********************
The tiny faux diamond, on her
squared-off pinkie nail, sparkled
in the afternoon sunshine that was
coming through the windsheild. Jen
gazed admiringly at it, just for a moment,
before turning into the mall entrance.
Then, she grimmaced; the diamond was
still firmly adhered to her nail,
but the nail itself had torn: just
this MORNING! What a NUISANCE!
She was picking up her sister, that
afternoon, from the airport, and
she wanted to look ......well,
really great! Now, she was on her
way to her manicurist's to have the
ugly looking nail repaired. She could
have always put a bandaid on it,
but.....that would never do.

Jen sighed, irritatedly, at the
car up in front of her.

"MOVE, you IDIOT!"

She said aloud, to no one in particular.
It was so much fun yelling at
other drivers, within the safe
confines of her little car! Hah!

The car, just up ahead of hers,
had its turn signal on; apparently,
it was waiting for several pedestrians,
up ahead, to move across the path
with their overloaded shopping carts.

"Goodness." Jen rolled her eyes,
dramatically. "This is going to take
all DAY! I don't have TIME for
this! I've gotta get this NAIL
fixed by 2 O'CLOCK!"

She touched lightly on her volkswagon's
miniature sounding horn.

"Hey! Come ON!" She yelled,
waving her injured-nail-pinkie hand
in the rearview mirror.

The car up ahead refused to budge.
Jen suddenly squinted in the
bright sunlight. Something on that
idiot's car was hurting her eyes.
What WAS that? It was affixed
on the left side of the shiny bumper,
almost like the faux diamond her
lovely, though cracked, pinkie nail.

Squinting, Jen reached over,
without looking, and grabbed the
pair of sunglasses she always kept
in the little wastebasket behind
her driver's seat. Grimmacing
irritably, she pushed the glasses
on, and lifted her head up a bit,
to gaze at what was bothering
her eyes.

"Oh. One of THOSE."

Jen rolled her expressive eyes,
again, and continued tapping on the
drivers' wheel, almost tempted to
sound her horn, again.

What WERE those things,
ANYWAY? She had never
seen them, around HER city,
but ever since moving to San Antonio,
they were like......all OVER the place!

Jen leaned her elbow on the
driver's window ledge, and sighed
impatiently. She hated these
malls with their huge buyers'
clubs, she hated this midday
traffic, and once more,
she hated those FISH things!
What WERE they, anyway: some
sort of secretive SIGN, between
bumper-to-BUMPER people? What
was it supposed to MEAN, anyway:
'If you hit me, we can just part
and be friends'?

Oh, GOD.
Jen rolled her big brown eyes, rather
sarcastically, again.

Just as suddenly, the pedestrian
crowd of shoppers passed, and
the stupid fish-car up ahead, moved.

Thank God.

Jen shifted gears, gently keeping her
cracked nail finger away from any further injury.
Maneuvering through the busy parking lot,
she found a spot as close as she could
get to her manicurists', and stopped
the car. Immediately peering
again at her ugly and cracked pinkie
nail, she picked up her leather pouch
purse, and got up out of the car.

Just ahead was parked that
Jeep with the stupid fish on it.
Frowning, Jen walked past and
hurried into the nail lady's shop,
her high-heeled sandals making an
a clickety-click sound on the hot,
dry pavement.

"KAREN! HELP! LOOK AT MY
NAIL! LOOK!"

Waving her pretty left hand
at the tall lady sitting behind
the front counter, Jen bit her
lower lip, and pretended to cry.

"I've GOTTA get this done,
right AWAY! HELP! PLEASE!"

The tall woman, probably in
her mid-fifties, just calmly
nodded. "Take a seat, Jen.
Missy's almost done with her
12 o'clock appointment. She'll
be just another minute. Would
you like a coffee, while you wait?"

"Uh, uh! I'm NERVOUS enough,
as it IS!" Jen sighed, audibly.
I've got to get to the airport, in
about a half an HOUR! I'd
just like some water, please!"

Karen reached under her counter
to the tiny fridge, and pulled out
a small bottle of mineral water.
"Here you go. Just calm down!
You'll get there, in time!"

Jen accepted the little bottle
with the perfect hand, the one
without the awful looking cracked
nail, and shook her curly head.

"Karen.... I must be pretty stupid
or something.......but, what are those
FISH things that people have around on
their CARS, down here?"

Jen finished swallowing, and
put the plastic cap back onto her
chilled bottle. For a breath of
a moment, her eyes narrowed,
suspiciously. "Yeah.... SO? So
WHAT? What's THAT'S got to do with
it?"

"Well." Karen paused for a moment,
as though trying to find the right words:
the most...CORRECT... words. Then, she suddenly
shrugged, as though making some sort of
decision. "It's just a... a CHRISTIAN thing,
that's all. It's like a little.....talisman..
uh, that's all."

"OH.... I SEE.
Sort of like.. a little good
LUCK charm?"

Jen shrugged, absentmindedly.
She was already losing
interest in the conversation,
and was peering up ahead at Missy's
table. Gratefully, she caught
the manicurist's eye, and lifted up
the wayward pinkie nail, waving it
in the air. Missy smiled, and nodded.
Jen relaxed a bit, and pulled open
the cap on her water bottle, again.

"Yeah."
Karen, relieved that she wouldn't have to
say anymore to a good client,
and offend her in any way,
simply nodded airily. Inwardly,
she let a deep breath.

"Yeah."

Karen nodded again, still feeling a little
uncomfortable. She was glad
when the pretty, antique bell sounded
at the door, and another client
walked in. She shrugged again.
Jen was already engrossed in the
newest edition of People Magazine;
on the cover was a big picture of
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

"Yeah."
Karen murmured again.
She touched the mouse beside her own
beautifully manicured right hand,
tapping it lightly and confidently.
Then, she busily peered at the screen,
over her half-glasses,
her eyes scanning professionally,
at the salon's daily schedule,
and the name of the client
who had just walked in. Without
thinking, Karen reached up to
touch the tiny gold Cross, on the
chain that was lying on her silk
blouse.

"That's all it is."
***************************
Go therefore
and make disciples
of all nations,
baptizing them....
teaching them
all I have
commanded you.
[Matthew 28:19-20]

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! TRUST JESUS NOW

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